Friday 23 October, Can Trona hosted the presentation of my book Un cambio de verdad followed by a chat with livestock herders. Marc August Muntanya kicked off the event by singing a couple shepherd's songs and then I spoke for half an hour. From the ideas contributed (the need for biodiversity, empowering the countryside over the city, taking initiative to bring livestock herders, farmers and artists together to create a new story that showcases the potential of nature and culture in a positive, attractive way), Alba Roquer shared her experience with her herd of Rosselló sheep, proving that a small, ecological outfit can have a future working on the right scale. And her theses were backed up by Gemma Vila, who has a herd of Valencian/African Guirra sheep that have adapted very well to this area. Both Alba and Gemma made a conscious decision to be livestock herders. Meaning they made this true change the book talks about, developing deep ties to nature. Miquel Vila, who has a herd of dairy cows, shared the experience of someone who grew up among animals because his family has always worked with them. But after observing some trends, he decided to make a change from more industrial production to an ecological process. He said the results have been positive, although they had to have a bit of extra padding in case things went south... because ecological produce, unlike other sorts, is more exposed to certain changes in commercial trends.

The audience -the room was full, taking into account Covid measures- was intensely participative, taking it seriously and having fun, proposing everything from opening a new platform to encourage people to consume ecological products to defending the reality of intensive livestock farming (there were some farmers of this type in the audience); sharing the opinion, for example, that the government should get rid of subsidies and allow the livestock sector to set the prices for its products and not people who belong to other worlds that have very little to do with their day-to-day reality.

At the end, several groups stayed behind chatting until they closed the room. A good sign.

Video summary of the event: video Gabi Martinez/sheepherders- Can Trona